The Game
by vaughn28
Summary: When Starbuck joins a pyramid game and wins, he gets more than he bargained for. You don't always intend to be the hero, but you have to do something
1. Chapter 1 A

Hello readers…I decided to revise this chapter, rewrite, add enhance, and hopefully made it better. Thanks for understanding!

The melodious trills of the slot machines, the barkers calling for bets, and the hoots and hollers of the patrons, it was even more intoxicating than the ambrosia that Starbuck was waiting on as he piled a few cubits on the table with a nod at the dealer. All of the noise of the chancery was music to his ears. He had been waiting for this, some time away from patrols which had become almost tedious as they ventured further into uncharted space. He thought that should at least be interesting, but space was big and full of nothing. Duty had become routine, and even the card games at the Rising Star were becoming boring. He was tired of seeing the same old faces and playing the same old games. He'd been lured here tonight by a promise from Chameleon of something new, but so far it seemed tonight would be like any other night as he waited on Chameleon to show up. The man was late as usual, but he breezed into the room, exchanging pleasantries with the various dealers before joining him at the pyramid table.

"So what's new Chameleon?" Starbuck asked in way of greeting.

The older man took the seat beside him, reaching over to take one of Starbuck's cubits for his ante into the game. "Now that you ask, there's a game I have heard of, a high stakes pyramid game."

"I'm at a high stakes pyramid game," Starbuck answered upping the current bet, forcing the others to fold. He shook his head and raked in the six or eight cubits on the table.

"This is something different," Chameleon said. "It could make a man wealthy in the turn of a card, and is definitely something new."

Starbuck could barely hear the man over the sound of the slot machines and the barker calling for bets and another spin on the wheel. It was a busy secton end on the Rising Star and he didn't even have a drink in his hand yet when Chameleon started spinning his tales..

"This game was meant for you!"

Chameleon's enthusiasm was that of a much younger man, and Starbuck couldn't help but grin as he glanced at the senior in the seat beside him. As usual, he was immaculately dressed, dapper and charming, and at least one classy woman of Chameleon's vintage was giving him the eye from across the table.

"What game?" Starbuck asked, casting a grin at the woman beside him, some siress or other from one of the civilian ships, definitely not the Senior ship, so the evening was looking a bit more promising. Her sweet perfume was tantalizing and he tried to keep his focus on the cards being dealt to him. Chameleon did promise him it would be a good night**. **

The old conman had made good on his word of spending time with Starbuck, sending him messages on a regular basis. In the sudden peace the fleet had found after the destruction of the Base Star, Starbuck had found time to meet up with Chameleon on the Rising Star on a regular basis, usually for a secton end card game in the pyramid rooms. Chameleon had sent him a message this time, telling him to come as he had information of an unauthorized game Starbuck might be interested in. It sounded promising, but so did most games until you found out that the rumors were far larger than the actual payoffs.

"How big a pot? And why are you telling me and not taking it for yourself?" He didn't even have a drink in his hand yet when Chameleon began to tell him about the game of a lifetime. This must be good if he couldn't even wait for Starbuck to light his fumarello and down an ale before he launched into the details.

"The pot is so much more than you would expect. It was a game meant for you. A heroic prize for the hero of the fleet." Chameleon clapped him on the back.

"Uh huh," he said as he lit his smoke and waved over a server. "You don't have to build me up with all that heroic felgercarb. I am regretting more and more agreeing to do that segment for the IFB."

"Yes, well sometimes a reputation can be used as a cover. Look at me for example," Chameleon said raising his glass to the one just delivered to Starbuck. "No one expects an old man to steal all their cubits. And yet," Chameleon grinned as he downed his drink. Starbuck took a sip of his. He wanted to grow his secton's wages by a few cubits before he got down to the serious drinking, and then maybe the serious flirting before he met up with Cassiopea when she could finally get over when her shift ended.

He took a long drag off his smoke, one of the few he had left and he intended to enjoy it. He let the smoke roll out slowly in Chameleon's direction, trying to let the man know he wouldn't clouded by the conman's ideas. "So why aren't you getting on in this game yourself?"

"Oh, it's not a game for me. The players are a bit less refined than what I am used to." Chameleon began to explain the details of the game being held on one of the rougher ships in the fleet. Starbuck was a bit leery as to the validity of Chameleon's information. He was a swindler after all. But the man had made good on his words so far since they had met over the Borellian Blood Feud, the man had invited him repeatedly to come play cards and he tried not to hold it against the old man that he'd lied about maybe being his father. Starbuck probably would have done something like it in the heat of the moment to save his own skin. Cassie reminded him that the tests did show they were of a same bloodline, but before the destruction, nearly a couple million people could claim the same results.

It was still nice that the old gambler was making an effort to remain friends with him. He'd met Chameleon at least a dozen times now on the Rising Star for pyramid games, and once on the Senior Ship for a friendly card tournament. They had almost won that tournament until Siress Blassie pointed out that it wasn't polite to gloat, then the two worked hard at losing so that Siress Blassie could be the winner. It had been fun teaming up and Starbuck was trying to arrange a tournament on the Galactica.

"The pot is quite large, and keeps growing," Chameleon said as Starbuck anted in on this game and collected his cards. "It could make you independently wealthy in one night. There is no time to waste on this opportunity."

Starbuck wasn't sure if he heard him right over the ringing bells and clink of cubits. "Really? How many cubits are we talking about? I'm stretched pretty tight as it is right now."

"The buy in for a seat is a hundred cubits."

Starbuck whistled, "No wonder it's unauthorized. I'm going to have to pick pockets to come up with that much."

"I can come up with half of the buy in for you," Chameleon said as he examined his cards.

Starbuck cast the charlatan a look. "You have that much? How many Siress's are you sleeping with?" he asked, but the old man looked serious as he nodded. The game had to be hot if the conman was offering to help him with half of the stake.

"Why me?" he asked. "This sounds more like your kind of game. It might be out of my league with that kind of cash. Besides, you are a better gambler. You have more years of experience than I do."

"This is something new," Chameleon said as he set down his drink and picked up the cards he'd been dealt. The pot is not something I could, um, manage to keep. But you would find a way, I'm sure of it."

Starbuck was intrigued by that. So little was new within the fleet, certainly not the woman beside him in her faded dress and sallow skin. But that kind of coin was hard to come by. "I could help you get a seat at the table and see that you don't lose the pot on the way out."

"No son," Chameloen insisted, "this game was meant for you. I don't have the right skills for this crowd."

That left Starbuck somewhat disbelieving that this was a real prospect, but that many cubits were hard to turn down. It would be nice to maybe afford some real quarters for he and Cassie if he ever made the decision to get sealed. It c ould at least give him enough to pay back all the friends he'd borrowed money from. He could be debt free for the first time in his life.

"Maybe," he said, looking down at the few cubits he had. "If I win tonight, beg a loan or two from Apollo and Boomer. It would cut my winnings down, but, a hundred cubit buy in? Has to be a lot of cubits on the table then."

"The prize is well worth it and I'm sure Apollo would forgive your loan when he sees what you have won."

"I doubt that. He remembers everything." Starbuck said, laying down a winning hand and collecting his cubits.

"Oh, I think he may actually forgive the loan and reward you once you win the prize." Chameleon insisted.

"Want to take a bet on that? I don't think you know Apollo like I do."

"Oh son, trust me. It will be a game well worth your while."

The details were still murky, the location deep within the civilian fleet on a ship with a name so generic it was laughable, the Colonial Cargo Carrier, often confused with the Colonial Movers ship. The game was held every fourth secton day with a regular crowd according to the conman.

"And the pots are high every time?" Starbuck had asked, not quite believing.

"Every time. But I am unsure how much longer it is going to last. We need to hurry."

There wasn't much Starbuck could do to speed up saving cubits when he was borrowing from everyone in Blue Squadron. By the time Starbuck finally got the cubits together and some time off where he wouldn't have to report in for a few cycles, Chameleon had been contacting him daily. The pot wasn't going to wait much longer, the man insisted.

To get to the game was trip that required at least three shuttle transfers, taking him deep into the civilian fleet. He'd needed a password just to get on the last shuttle to a freighter, having to tell the porter, something about Aquarian fishing was good today. Once they landed, he had to weave his way to the lower decks, and pass through multiple hatches also requiring different passwords. It was definitely an unauthorized game as the route to get there was convoluted and confusing. At one door he was to mention something about the circus was in town today and the clowns weren't sad. At another hatch, he had to say that a flower, the gardenia, was his favorite. He assumed they changed the name of the flower weekly. He wasn't even sure if he'd made it to the right compartment when someone passed him and asked how he was doing today. He was supposed to reply that his gout was worse when it rained.

"Third door on the left," the man replied. "Knock three times, then once."

Starbuck shook his head. It seemed like a lot of fuss for just a card game.

When he knocked in the right order, the door opened. He was greeted by a big hairy man that looked like he was a Borellian Nomen. If he wasn't, he definitely had a cousin that was. The guy moved aside and let Starbuck into a smoky compartment filled with shadows except for the light on the field of green, flashing off the white cards.. Once the door closed behind his back with a loud click of a lock, he suddenly had second thoughts about the game.

The table was surrounded by a rough crowd, large men with clubs and truncheons leaning against the walls. There were a few familiar faces, men he knew from the Rising Star, but most he didn't know and had to assume they were important people as they came with their own bodyguards. One card player was about as old as Chameleon. His bodyguard loomed ominously over the man, dressed all in black with red trim. The dark clothing hadn't faded over the yahrens, and the metallic insignia of the Scorpia Militia glowed like it had recently been shined. Starbuck met the man's gaze and noted a pair of eyes he had seen before, the hard evil glint of the notorious group of mercenaries from Scorpio. Starbuck eyed the guard, noting that the man kept one hand inside his jacket pocket attempting to conceal an illicit laser.

Starbuck broke his eyes from the mercenary when the brute at the door deftly ran his hands up the warrior's back and down his sides searching for weapons.

"Only weapon I have is my charm and good looks," he said trying to let the bruiser know there was no need to manhandle him.

"He's good," the brute said to a man at the table. Starbuck gave the table another scan, noting there were already seven men seated. There would be eight at the table including himself and close to double that in the room. Not an ideal situation, but he knew it was too late now to back out. He swallowed and put a friendly smile on his face as he reached a hand out to offer to the man at the right of his empty seat a handshake.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I hear there's a card game?" The men around the table didn't respond and Starbuck looked to the large man who had let him in the door. The brute nodded towards the table. He'd come too far to just head back, but he suddenly wished that he'd told someone other than Chameleon where he was going just in case he got robbed and tossed out an airlock. After loaning him at least twenty five cubits, Jolly had suggested he should come with him just in case things got too rough. He should have taken him up on the offer.

Then again, he reasoned, they'd had plenty of opportunity to ambush him in the maze of corridors he'd just negotiated. He had made it this far with all his cubits.

The bruiser pointed to the empty chair and Starbuck took the seat as he cast a quick prayer to lady luck. "I don't care if I win, just let me make it out of this room with all my fingers and toes. Keeping most of my teeth and my pretty face would appreciated as well."

He felt vulnerable in his civilian clothes without a blaster by his side. He wasn't carrying anything except an igniter for his fumarellos. Chameleon had insisted he wear something other than his uniform as it might make the proprietors of the gambling den nervous. But the same close he'd worn on Serenity now made him feel like an easy mark. He plastered on a confident smile hoping to ingratiate himself and avoid any conflict.

"I was invited by Chameleon."

"The name's Silenius. You have the buy in?" The dealer asked as he rippled the cards in an elaborate shuffle.

Starbuck reached into his jacket pocket and tossed the bag of cubits on the table. Silenius opened the drawstring and smiled as he counted out the coins. "Looks all there. We play standard pyramid. There will be seven rounds before the finale. If your cubits last long enough, we'll play the final round for the real prize."

"Sounds good. Starbuck's the name." He nodded to the men around the table.

"We know who you are. It's the only reason why you are here. If you were any other warrior, you wouldn't have made it off that shuttle."

"You do take your cards serious." Starbuck winked as he accepted the chips counted out to him.

The dealer chuckled, which seemed odd as Starbuck's joke wasn't that funny.

They didn't waste time with pleasantries or introductions, just a nod around the table as a form of hello, then they got down to playing. The seven other men at the table, like himself, were more interested in their cards than with each other. Starbuck was the youngest one at the table, but not the youngest in the room as one of the bodyguards only looked a yahren or two over eighteen. But those around the table had some wisdom to them, half with white hair, the one next to the dealer wasn't gray haired as he sported a bad weave on his head, and three others were dark haired, but still had a good twenty to thirty yahrens on him. All of the players had extra weight on them, a sure sign in the current fleet that they had money to afford more food than the standard rations allowed.

With the first deal and bid, he knew he was in for a good game. He had begun to be bored with the games on the Rising Star. The other players there were too predictable and the dealers knew him too well. Bets would stay small and he could bluff too easily. It was no fun to play when everyone folded the moment they thought they might lose more than two cubits.

This game was more like the tournaments he'd sat in at chanceries in the Twelve Colonies. The bets didn't become outrageous in the first round, but they were more than he made in a secton. After the first hand, he was offered some cheap ambrosia that he was pretty sure they brewed in a turbowash in the back just today and a fumarello that was more rolling paper than tobac, but he wasn't here for the drinks. He was here for the cards and the first hand had been wicked. He'd lost to the man to the left of the dealer, the one with the fake hair, but the other man's hand was only slightly better than his own.

He sipped at the ambrosia grimacing at the taste as he watched the other players, looking for their ticks and their tells. He purposely lost a hand or two just to see how the others played and how high the pot would go. They kept the bets within the limits of the buy in. The pot grew, but everyone seemed to win a hand or two as they felt each other out.

They were experienced players, executing decent pyramid faces and reading each other as much as they read the cards. The old man who came with the Scorpio guard had a bad habit of chewing on his mustache while he calculated odds. The man to his left tapped a chip when he thought he had a good hand, and the man to his right sweated when he bluffed. The guy with the weave would reach up and adjust the rodent on his head when his hand was weak, and the guy with the body guard who barely shaved would rearrange his cards as he calculated odds, once or twice if a good hand, several times if it was bad.

It was least a centaur of feeling each other out before they got down to real cards, then the pot climbed. Starbuck won as much as he lost, breaking out even on the first round.

Things became serious for the next round. Thus far it wasn't anything like he'd been promised. On the second round he won about as much as he would on the Rising Star. But as they began the third round it was as if by some silent agreement, they all started to play hard ball and the pots rose.

He lost the third round, but still had more than he came with so was able to join the fourth round, where lady luck smiled on him and he doubled his stake. By the start of the fifth round, the player to his right had dropped out, depleted of enough cubits to make his ante. It was a relief as the man's sweaty odor was overriding the smell of cheap fumarellos in the room.

"Too bad," the dealer had said to him as the cards were revealed. "Anax will see you out the door and to your shuttle."

The man grumbled loudly as he left the table. The dealer called out to the him before he left, "Remember, you complain to anyone with some authority you'll be needing cubits to buy new teeth and some crutches."

The man wiped at a bead of sweat on his brow as he said, "I'm not stupid. I just wanted to at least get a look at the prize."

The dealer held up the next round as he stared the man down. "You know that will cost you more than you have. You lost fair and square. You can try again next secton, just like you did last secton. The prize will still be here."

"Not if I win it," Starbuck boasted, grinning to the others around the table. His smile faded at the menacing looks he received in return to his joke. "Easy gentleman, it's just a friendly game of cards, right?"

The sweaty man ignored him, pleading again with the dealer. "I just wanted to get a look. You have my buy in. You let me look before. Can't I at least see what I lost?"

"Get him out of here," the dealer growled to a big burly bouncer at the door. The brute took a step towards the sweaty man who held his hands up as he took a step back.

"I'm leaving. I know my own way. I'll be back next secton. Save my place."

"If you have the cubits and can keep your mouth shut, there will be a place for you." The dealer said shuffling the deck, fanning the cards into an elaborate bridge, before shuffling again. He didn't begin to deal until the man had left and the door closed.

"Do I need to remind all of you about the rules of the game? It is by invitation only. You talk to anyone about our arrangement, and you are barred from future games. You share my name with any of the authorities and your name will be revealed as well. Just like on a sailing ship of old, I go down and you all go down with me."

The words sounded off to Starbuck. This was just a card game, unauthorized by the gambling board of the Rising Star, but so was every card game he played in the bunk rooms on the Galactica. Games weren't something that normally gained the attention of the fleet security unless a fight broke out. Then again, he didn't normally win more than fifty cubits, let alone needed a hundred just to buy a seat at the table. He'd managed to get close to five hundred to bankroll his hands. He had a lot to lose, and plenty of people he would owe for close to a yahren if he lost it all tonight. The house would rake in close to a thousand cubits by the end of the night and he doubted all the tables on the Rising Star made that much on a secton's end.

The dealer held up handing him his first card for this hand, waiting on Starbuck's assurance that he would be keeping his mouth shut about this gambling den. Starbuck put on his most charming smile as he spread his hands wide.

"No worries. Besides, I don't want to share the pot with my friends. You can count on me to keep this to myself."

"If you don't, you'll have Anax to deal with." Silenius nodded to the bruiser by the door who cracked his knuckles loudly. The man was twice the size of Jolly. "Chameleon vouched for you. I'll make him pay too if you talk."

Starbuck held his grin. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not looking for trouble, just a card game. As long as everything stays honest and those cards aren't marked, we don't have anything to worry about."

Silenius nodded. "A fair game is what we offer, but it's the pot that everyone wants."

"They may want it, but I'm the one who's going to win it." Starbuck winked to the man. "Let's play."

This wasn't Starbuck's first rough game, but it was the first since the destruction. He was on a random ship in an uncharted part of space. This was probably not his brightest idea, but he was in too deep now. He didn't think they would just let him walk out now. He was distracted and lost the next round, barely lasting until the last hand, losing by the turn of a card. He cursed at himself to clear his mind and stay alert. He had one more round to go before they got to the big pot.

He stayed focused for the last round, eliminating two more players before he eased up and let the man from Scorpio take the final hand. He'd appraised the man, noting that when he won, he became over confident and made bad decisions with his cards. Starbuck wanted the man feeling like a winner so Starbuck could make him a loser.

Unlike the sweaty guy, the two eliminated players that round were allowed to stay to watch the grand finale. He suspected that was because the men had friends still at the table and could contribute what cubits they had left to help their friends win the big pot.

"Here we go, the grand finale. Ante up."

He tossed his chips onto the pile and evaluated his hand, asking for two cards before he considered the other players, calculating the odds of his hand by the expressions on the other player's faces. Several were distracted, and the man from Scorpio was on the edge of his seat. The pot began to climb, but luck was on his side. The cards fell his way and the pot was nearly up to three thousand cubits, enough to maybe buy his own ship. He could be a captain and command his own fate. He took a long drag of his fumarello, choking on the cheap tobac as he motioned for another card. The man from Scorpio raised his bet by four hundred cubits. Starbuck's card came to him, and he called waiting for the others to meet the pot. As they flipped their cards, he let the smile on his face grow. It came his turn and he flipped over the card, a full pyramid.

The man from Scorpio cursed loudly.

Starbuck leaned over and began raking in his winnings, more than he could fit in his pockets.

"You are the lucky winner tonight." Silenius congratulated him as he waved over to Anax. The burly man opened the door and left the room. "You don't need to gather it up. We'll take care of that for you. Your prize is on the way."

"I thought this was the prize." Starbuck said, still raking in the cash.

"Very funny," Silenius answered. "I was told you were a jokester. I didn't think you'd be interested in our kind of game, not with the rumors of all the women you manage to be seen with, but then we all have a respectable image to uphold, don't we?"

Starbuck didn't understand what the man meant. Sure he had a reputation as a ladies man, but lately it had just been Cassie and he's hardly call his public image as respectable. He kept his focus on his cubits, stacking them up and starting to stash them in his bag when he heard the door behind him open. He cast a quick glance to the bruiser at the door. If there was going to be trouble, it would come now as he was trying to leave with his winnings.

He saw someone with the brute, someone in white and he looked back to the table to make sure no one was reaching for his cubits before he turned back to make sure he saw what he thought was there.

It was a girl in a slip of a dress. She was a beauty with long blonde hair flowing in waves to her waist and wide blue eyes, or at least she would be gorgeous when she came of age. With her soft skin and slim waist lacking curves, the girl looked no older than twelve, maybe thirteen. She looked tiny next to the huge lummox. Her baby blue eyes scanned the room in terror. Starbuck followed her gaze like he was its wingmate, recoiling at the wolfish grins on the other men's faces. The girl's eyes fell upon him, before she looked down blushing.

""Here's your prize. Isn't she a beauty, gentlemen?" Silenius gestured towards the girl.

Before Starbuck could ask if this was a joke, the dealer began to detail the conditions regarding his prize. "She's a little shy at first, but that's half the charm, isn't it? Tell him your name, sweetness."

She trembled and wrapped her arms around herself before looking up to him. Her small chest rose as she tried to breath. Her voice was a soft whisper as she said, "Aphrodite."

"That's right," Silenius said, "the goddess of love. She knows what to do, even though as you can see, she's young enough for you to teach her a thing or two."

The men around the table chuckled knowingly. "I taught her most of it," the man from Scorpio said smirking at as he eyed the girl. The young gal blushed an even deeper shade of pink and a barely detectable shudder ran through her slender frame.

Starbuck quickly understood what Chameleon had meant when he said this game was out of his league. He didn't expect Starbuck to actually enjoy the winnings. He expected the decorated pilot, warrior of the centaur and pride of the Colonial fleet to take the pot and save the girl. Those blue eyes, wide with fear, left him with no other option. He stood up, taking a step towards the girl, and she cowered away, backing up into the bruiser who had ushered her into the room. The dealer chuckled before he began to explain the conditions of prize.

"You get three centaurs to do pretty much anything you want as long as you don't leave any permanent marks. We have a room set up for you to enjoy your time."

The girl looked up to him, her large innocent eyes begging for him to rescue her from these monsters.

If only he could. Starbuck was suddenly conscious of how many large men there were in the room. He quickly scrapped his first plan of just grabbing the girl's hand and walking out the door. That wasn't going to be an option. He scanned the room noting the leering grins on the other men's faces. They had all known what the real reward was this evening while he'd been clueless. All the passwords and complicated directions now made sense. What they were doing here wasn't just illegal, it was morally wrong on all the twelve worlds.

Starbuck's stomach churned the cheap ambrosia and he swallowed down the bile at the thought of these old men alone with the girl in a room for centaurs.

He thought fast. "So, she's mine to do with what I want, right? What if I want to play cards?"

A quick flash of relief washed over the girl's features, but fled just as quickly as Silenius answered his question.

"If you want to sell off your time with the girl with the other players, that's up to you, or you can put her back in the pot. I'm sure the gentlemen would like to play a few more rounds."

"No!" He reached for the girl and abandoning rest of the cubits on the table. "The prize is mine. I'm not sharing her."

The dealer chuckled as Starbuck looked down into the girl's wide frightened eyes. "How old is she?" The man didn't answer him still laughing, so he spoke to the girl, "How old are you?"

The girl shook her head and looked down as Silenius finally answered, "As young as you want her to be. How young do you like them? It will cost you quite a bit more to go below the teens."

The words penetrated Starbuck's thick skull as he thought, "Frak, they have more than this one. I have to do something!"

He lookedup to the brute that had a hold of the young gal, took in his large arms, big meaty hands, a nose that had been broken more than once. The bulge in the man's jacket indicated he was carrying more than some coin in his pockets. Taking on the bouncer just wasn't an option, not if he wanted to live.

"So what will it be, this one, or keep playing for a younger model?" The dealer asked.

Starbuck looked back down on the young gal noting that they had made an extra effort to make her look young, adding just a hint of a pink to her lips and the makeup around her eyes, lined to make them even bigger. They'd kept her thin to enhance the appearance of youth. He had to do something. He threw a flirtatious smile upon his features as he reached out slowly with a finger to pluck a lock of her hair, running it between his fingers. "So soft," he murmured, "Hard to believe it is real. How did I get so lucky? This can't be real."

She looked up to him again with her big eyes, so much like a hare in the sights of a falcon. He winked, and she stared at him in confusion.

"So sweet, it has to be an illusion," he said trying to convey to her a message that she should play along, but he meant none of it. He didn't think she understood as she trembled again.

Turning back to the dealer he answered the man, "I can't afford anything younger this time, and this one is a beauty, so I think I'll take my prize." Starbuck said "Quite a prize." He turned back to the girl, reaching out for her and gently pulling the girl away from the big brute guarding her. Slowly, Starbuck leaned down, planting a swift kiss upon her lips before he pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear, "Don't worry. I'll save you."

He pulled back giving her another wink before putting his arm around her and pulling her close. He tried to ignore the girl's shiver as he wrapped an arm around her. "I got lucky tonight. Who knew my luck could be so beautiful? Take me away to paradise," he said to the bruiser at the door. The sound of lecherous chuckling followed him out the door and he quelled his own shiver of revulsion.


	2. Chapter 2

The lecherous laughter followed him down the corridor as the bouncer led him away from the game and to another compartment. The evil intent of the men whom he had just spent a pleasant evening playing cards with made him wrap his arm tighter around the gal in an effort to keep her safe. He tried to ignore her trembling body and the silky thin material of her dress against his arm as he schemed for a way to get them both off this ship. As the bruiser led the way, Starbuck looked behind him to find another man who looked like the Borellian Nomen cousin to the man that was leading him. He quickly calculated the odds. He might consider taking on one of them if he was armed, but two? He wasn't that heroic, especially with nothing to use as a weapon and a girl to protect. He would lose her and possibly his life in the exchange. Instead he concentrated on evaluating his surroundings, trying to remember exactly where they were in the ship, and how far they were from the shuttle bay. Despite the twists and turns of the makeshift corridors, he didn't think he was too far. Maybe even closer to the bridge.

As they took a side corridor, he thought he could still hear the clink of cubits and the dealer as he called for ante.

"Thin walls," he noted for himself before speaking to the back of the bruiser. "What was this ship before the destruction?"

The guy shrugged. "Just like the name says, cargo carrier."

The man had stopped at a door, sealed with an old fashioned padlock, but the door was made of wood, a rare commodity in the fleet these days. He pulled out a key opening the lock and swinging the door into the room, rather than sliding it to the side like most doors on military ships. He gestured into the room and Starbuck had to remind himself to act like he was being escorted to a place of debauchery, rather than being pushed into a cage.

"So big open spaces for cargo right?" Starbuck asked suddenly hesitant realizing that he'd probably be locked into the room for the three centaurs.

"Yeah, I guess," the bouncer answered as he reached out to pull the girl into the room.

Starbuck casually turned, moving the girl away from the man's grasp and took the steps into the compartment. The room was small, but it had been decorated like a replication of Piscerian pleasure den, complete with a round bed in the center of the room covered in deep red velvet and about twenty pillows. The walls were draped with tapestries in red shot through with silver thread outlining roses and trailing vines. Against one wall was a metal table with a red cloth covering. On top was a silver vase and a bowl of berries and citrus fruits.

"Nice frills," he said moving the girl farther away from the brute.

"You got all the frills you need right there," the man pointed to the girl. "You've got three centaurs. You have any problems with her, just knock. My name's Ivan. I'll be right outside. She can be shy, but she knows what she's supposed to do. Remember, no permanent marks otherwise, you can do what you want."

The man waited for his reply, but what Starbuck had to say was going to get him escorted out of there, alone. He considered it. Maybe it would be best if he was kicked out. He could go straight back to the Galactica, inform the commander and then come back with a full squadron of soldiers to shut this place down.

But then the girl would be doomed to fraking the guy who came in second, and what kind of hero would he be if he let that happen? He nodded to Ivan. "Yeah, got it." He swallowed down bile as the door was pulled shut and Starbuck heard the click of the lock.

The girl shuddered in his arm. His first instinct was to pull her close. She stiffened and he nearly cursed out loud at his stupidity. Slowly, he moved her away from him, taking his arm from around her shoulders. As he stepped away, she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly as he shook off his jacket. He held it out with both hands in an attempt to wrap it around her shoulders, but she took a hesitant step away out of his reach. He nodded dropping one of his hands as he held the jacket out to her. "You look cold."

She didn't take the jacket from his hands, instead standing there trying to control her shivers. Starbuck nodded to her, understanding and instead laid the jacket on the bed.

"It's okay," he said again, "We aren't going to be using that bed."

The girl's eyes were confused before they went wide in fright.

"NO!" he said loudly, and the girl jumped. He turned away sighing. He was making this into more felgercarb than it already was. As he tried to think, he scanned the room taking in the tapestries that covered the walls, but in the gaps between the fabric, he could see the metal walls. He searched for the welds that held them together before turning back to the girl. She hadn't moved, her arms still wrapped around her and her eyes wide in fright.

He spoke softly, his hands out and open as he moved slowly taking another step away from her, putting his back against the door, casually leaning and testing the lock and the strength of the door. It didn't move with his weight.

"Hey, it's okay. I am not taking any liberties with you. That's what I meant. We won't be using that bed or anywhere else for that matter. I'm going to get you out of here. What's your name, your real name?"

Her voice was a hushed whisper. "Aphrodite."

He nodded at the lie. It wasn't important if it was her real name or not and he wasn't sure if he'd want someone to know who he really was if he was in the same situation. He considered holding his hand out to her, a handshake to build some trust as he might need her help getting them out of there, but her wary eyes made him change tactics.

He put his hands in his pockets, his only weapons at the moment put away. "Name's Starbuck. I'm a warrior, viper pilot. How old are you?"

She looked past him at the door for a brief moment before meeting his eyes, her voice a bit louder. "Sixteen."

Starbuck shook his head. Another lie, but he didn't think it was for his benefit. "Well I like my women older, much older, so how old are you really? "

"I'm supposed to say eighteen. How old do you want me to be?" She tried batting her big eyes at him in an effort to be flirtatious, but it looked more like a doe in the headlights of a hovermobile.

"You can cut that out now. I'm not here for that. I just was curious. I'm serious, I like my ladies to be older than me and I'm pushing thirty, well thirty-five, but who's counting?"

Her eyes narrowed as she scowled at him. "If you like older women, then why are you here?" You could just get a socialator over at the Rising Star. You wanted something younger." Her voice was a bit more confident as she made her judgement of him.

"I have a socialator, I mean she was, now she's a medic and…and I didn't come here looking for …for…that!"

The gal gave him an exasperated look. "Yes you did, or else you wouldn't be here. They all come here for that."

Starbuck huffed in frustration before taking a deep breath. "I didn't come here to …to frak. I came looking for a high stakes pyramid game because I was bored. Now I have more excitement than I need!" he stammered, but the gal still looked wary as she took a step back. He sighed pulling a hand from his pocket to run through his hair. "Look, I just thought I was playing for cubits. I had no idea you would be the real prize."

"Uh huh," she said tilting her head to the side trying to judge his words. "You had to have won big for me to be here. Otherwise it would be Venus or Persephone."

"How many of you are there? How old are they?" He ran his hand through his hair again as he vowed he was going to get Chameleon for this. If the conman had just told him, or better yet, gone to the authorities with this, he wouldn't be in this position, neck deep in mong and sinking fast.

"Older," she said. "They don't cost as much but they know more. I could get you one of them or…." The girl looked around the room, searching for something. "Or a drink or some food or…"

"I don't want a drink or food. I want some answers so I can figure out how to get you all out of here without getting myself killed. Look, Aphrodite, do you know the lay out of this, where the corridors lead to and the quickest way out of here?"

The gal was tilting the vase, trying to pour its contents into a glass, but there wasn't anything to pour. He tried to get her attention again, calling her name before he realized, speaking his thoughts aloud, "Aphrodite is not your real name is it?"

She froze, her hand reaching for the fruit before she turned back to him. "You want to get me out of here?"

Her look of disbelief nearly broke his heart. "Yeah, I do. You're too young for this," he took a step towards her, wanting to convince her of his sincerity, but the gal flinched and moved a step away. He put his back against the door, holding up his hands in submission. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a warrior. My job is to save people."

She blinked a few times before she spoke. "Where would you take me? What would I have to do?"

Starbuck winced, remembering back to the early lessons of his own rough childhood. Everything came at a price. While it might not be cubits, everyone expected something from you. He got good at being funny and charming, and wondered if he would have turned out different if he'd not been orphaned. Would he still be happy-go-lucky-life-of-the-party-Starbuck?

He hadn't trusted many of his foster parents, not until the last couple. They were too old to bother with him, the old man even telling him to stop being funny and just get his homework done. It had taken almost two yahrens before he actually trusted they weren't going to send him back. He never would have gotten into the academy if it weren't for the old man pushing him, sometimes literally. He trusted the whacks his foster father gave him more than the pats on the head he got from others.

He didn't have two yahrens to help this gal trust him, and he certainly wasn't going to hit her. He'd just have to be himself.

"The Galactica. You wouldn't have to do anything. Just be a kid and grow up, become anything you want."

She took another step away from him, putting her back against the far wall before she asked, "You would do that after all the cubits you paid?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes," he said, hoping he could meet the bet he was making.

She cocked her head again, sizing him up. "If you pay more cubits, they let me stay with you longer. Would you like that?" She dropped her arms and spun around giving him a view of what she had to offer.

He looked up at the ceiling, evaluating if it was possible to push through to the room above. No one would be expecting that, he thought as he said, "We're not staying any longer than we have to. I just need to figure out a way out of here that doesn't involve us getting caught."

He looked back to the gal, who was staring at him intently, emotions battling in her eyes.

"You're not the first one who said they wanted to take me away," she said softly, taking a step towards the bed.

"But I'll be the last. You just have to trust me."

"You're serious?" She looked sceptical, but she took a step closer to him.

He nodded. "I'm serious. I want to get you out of here and away from these men."

She shook her head as the terror on her face softened a little, as her eyes went back to the door.

"They listen," she said softly. "I think they watch to make sure I…"

"Of course they do, sick bastards." Starbuck cursed under his breath.

"They have lasers and knives. You don't have anything do you?"

He ignored her question, instead asking one of his own. "So, if we sit and talk, how long before they come in?"

The girl swallowed looking to the door again. "Not long. But if we…" she looked to the bed, then back to him, "then they don't come in until the time is up."

He nodded, taking in the information. Going out the door wasn't an option, nor was jumping the bruiser guarding the door, but dismantling the room itself would probably be an easy task. The walls were thin. If he could take out the back wall, or one of the sides, they could slip into another room, then another corridor and be gone before anyone noticed.

But through the thin walls they were listening, and they expected him to be thrilled to be enjoying his winnings. If he started destroying the room right away, that was probably guaranteeing a visit from the goon squad outside.

"If I…" the girl's soft voice drew his attention back to her, "don't please you, I get in trouble. I mean, I am your prize. And if you don't, then they'll just send in someone else. I …I would rather it was you instead of…the old men. We can pretend you got me away and that could be fun."

He shook his head and tried to quell his roiling stomach at the thought of what had been going on here, raffling off young girls like they were trophies. He beheld his prize, really looking at her. The makeup she had on didn't hide the blemishes that come with puberty, but her coloring was good and healthy, indicating she might be eating a bit better than the rest of the fleet. She was thin, but not unnaturally so, looking like maybe she was just small for her age. He guessed she was over thirteen, but not by much.

"How did you get here, I mean, do you want to be doing this?" he said, quickly regretting he'd spoken his thoughts aloud as she looked down to the floor, her face turning red in shame.

Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear it. "No." For a moment she looked even younger than he guessed as her eyes filled with tears. She wiped one away before she put a fake smile on her face and said, "but some of the men are nice to me. You'll be nice to me too?"

He nodded at her answer and resisted the urge to go to her and wrap his arms around her in reassurance. Instead he asked softly, "Are your parents still alive?"

She shook her head again, but didn't look up.

"The destruction?" he asked and she nodded.

"Why aren't you on the orphan ship?" he asked, digging a little deeper, alarmed that there might be a bigger problem in the fleet if kids were just being snatched from the care of the colonial custodial system.

"They…" she looked up and met his gaze, "my sister and I made it too late to the spaceport and…they said they would save us. They put us on their ship and…and…now they make me…"

She didn't elaborate, but he didn't need her too.

"Your sister? How old is she?" he asked.

"Six," she answered.

He cursed. "Frak, don't tell me they make her too?"

She was about to answer when Starbuck jumped at the knock on the door at his back, as the bruiser asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No, just talking. I get three centaurs right?" Starbuck shouted back.

"You didn't pay to talk, but if that's what flips your cubit, don't mind me."

Starbuck turned to the door. "I'm not used to an audience, alright? Not really my thing. You already locked me in, mind if we have a bit of privacy?"

"I'm here in case you have any problems or need anything. It's my job, what you paid for right? You need anything? Something to fire your turbos?"

Starbuck raised a fist, meaning to knock down the door and the man outside, but he took a deep breath, mumbling to himself, "Be a hero. More at stake here than yourself. If you can sneak onto a baseship, you can sneak one girl, or two, off a stupid cargo ship." He raised his voice to the door, "Hey, can we get a little ambrosia? Might put us both in the right mood."

Starbuck pressed his ear to the door, listening. The wood was cheap as sound travelled well through it. "I just won more than a thousand cubits. I think I can afford a bottle or two of your homebrew." Starbuck listened for footsteps in the corridor, but thought he only heard one set as the man shouted to his companion.

"Hey, Vinnie, can you fetch a couple of bottles for the customer?"

"Thanks," Starbuck shouted before turning back to the girl. "That will buy us some time. Why don't you sit on the bed? I promise, I'm not going to touch you."

The girl looked dubious at his words as she sat. Starbuck took the few steps to the table, looking at the berries and the vase before bending down to examine the legs that supported it, finding that it was made of cheap metal. He could easily pry it apart and the sharp edges may be of some use. He turned to examine the back wall of the compartment, pushing the tapestry out of the way. Cheap metal, hastily constructed, only a spot weld here and there. He was suddenly thankful for his secondary shop teacher who took the time to actually teach them some construction methods rather than making bread boxes and toy bins.

"The bed is over here. It's nice and soft." The gal tried to be coy again, but he kept his focus on the wall, running his fingers over the welds, knocking lightly to see if he could see how well it held. "You really are . . . kind of different. What are you doing?" the girl asked.

"Getting us out of here," he answered, kneeling down to take a look at the welds holding the walls and the floor together. It appeared to be a solid sheet of metal making up the back wall of the compartment, with the side walls welded to it. The floor also appeared to be a long flat piece, probably solid for a few compartments or more. Simple honeycomb construction. If he could break the weld on the wall, he could easily get into the compartment beside them, but not behind or below. He looked to the ceiling, a solid sheet as well.

"They're listening. They'll be here any centon," she reminded him again, and he realized that crouching in a corner while you're supposed to be fraking might look a little odd.

"Forgive me for my sins, past, present and future, Amen," he said hoping that Ivan might just think he was odd if he overheard. They were all perverts if they liked to frak kids, so they might not look too closely into a man asking for his sins to be absolved. He got up and came over to the bed. "Mind if I sit?"

She nodded and he took a seat beside her. He looked at her, hoping to convey with his eyes that she could trust him. "May I?" he asked as he very slowly lightly wrapped his arm around her, gently pulling her close. She only stiffened a little, but he didn't let it stop him as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I'm going to create a diversion and then I'm going to take that wall down, then we're going to slip into the next room. Then we'll pull down that wall, and then we will get out of here. Understood?"

She nodded, before saying faintly, "Elisha. My name is Elisha."

He pulled back smiling. "Nice to meet you, Elisha." He considered her for a moment before leaning in again. "Do you know where they keep your sister?"

"Back in our rooms. They don't make her, not yet." She looked up at him, eyes now soft and warm. "You can get us out of here? For real?"

"I think so," he said scanning the room again before looking to the door. "We may have to put on a little show for Ivan, but I promise you, I am not doing more than a kiss or two, my word as a warrior."

She nodded. "I'd do anything if you could get us out of here. I saw you on the televid. Everyone thought you were handsome. I won't mind."

He sighed heavily, remembering back to the aftermath of the "Warrior of the Centaur" piece he had agreed to for the IFB. It wasn't so much the constant ribbing by his fellow pilots, but the recognition he received anytime he was out and about in the fleet. About the only good thing that had come out of being accused of murdering Ortega was the cooling of the idolatry. But then there had been that baseship, and he couldn't let Apollo go alone. He'd gotten lucky and lived through that, and now he had to live with the undeserved admiration of people he didn't even know.

"Yeah, the lighting and the makeup made me look good, but I mind. You shouldn't be doing this, especially not with mean old men like me. I'm just a lucky scoundrel, and pretty girls like you should be with good men, when you're grown up," he added.

He didn't get a chance to say more as the lock clicked and the door swung open. The lummox was juggling four bottles in his hands, setting them down on the table. "There you go. She giving you any problems? You can ignore her if she says no. It's just a game she plays."

He blinked long and slow, counting down from ten and suppressing the desire to strangle the man. Pulling up a perfect pyramid face, he answered the man with a wink and grin. "Getting down to business just as soon as you leave the room and we finish our drinks." Starbuck got up to go to the table turning his back on the man. He picked up the bottles, opening one and handing it to Elisha. "You mind? You're ruining the mood." He motioned to the door.

The bruiser shook his head, but he left the room and the lock clicked back in place. Elisha was tipping the bottle to take a drink when Starbuck reached for it.

"You're not old enough," he said, looking at his jacket, regretting what he was about to do. It was a nice jacket, cut to fit him by the uniform department of the Galactica. He'd never had an outfit custom tailored before and it seemed a shame to have to rip it up. He decided to save the jacket, and reached for his shirt, pulling it up over his head. Elisha gave a little gasp.

"Oh hey, uh, sorry. For our escape," he said before ripping the shirt down the middle and tossing the two pieces to the floor. He took the bottle he had taken from her, fumbling it and in the process pouring it over the clothing. "Diversion," he winked at her, but she looked unsure of his actions. He reached into his jacket pocket, palming his igniter before tossing the jacket to the foot of the bed.

He reached for the other bottle, opening it and only taking one swallow before placing it on the bed next to him.

"Now for the show, just in case you're right and they are checking on us," he said then reached up with one hand, taking a lock of her hair and twirling it with his finger.

She recoiled from him at first, but relaxed when she realized that all he was touching at the moment was her hair. He played with it a few moments longer, hoping that going slow might help her to trust him. "Just for show," he said softly as he leaned towards her, putting his arm around her and in the process pulling them both to lie down on the bed so they were facing each other on their side. He murmured again, "Just for show. Let them think I'm wooing you before I spring into action."

She tensed, but he made a shushing sound. "It's okay. I like my women ancient with wrinkles and grey hair." He pictured Siress Belloby and shivered himself, but the image worked to cool the unconscious reactions of his body to having a pretty girl by his side. "And women who order me around and tell me how stupid I am for getting myself into situations like this," he whispered and Elisha actually giggled, making him smile. He trailed a finger in lazy circles on her shoulder.

"Yup, that's what I'm into. I like pushing their wheelchairs and sponge bathing all that wrinkly skin that smells like death. The greyer the hair, the better. Heck even white like Commander Adama's." He forced himself to imagine a naked commander in bed with smelly old Belloby as he stroked Elisha's shoulder and placed a kiss upon her sweet young lips. It almost did the trick making the kiss more platonic, but there was no denying that Elisha was beautiful. In a few yahrens she'd be drop dead gorgeous. "Commander's naked astrum, that's what turns me on," he said as Elisha giggled again, this time leaning forward to give him a kiss.

"Do not enjoy this. Bucko," he mumbled to himself as he pulled away. He gazed into her eyes, noting again how young and scared she really was. It brought him back into focus. He knocked over the bottle of ambrosia, letting it spill onto the mattress. He froze as he felt Elisha's hand on his chest. She leaned towards him again, placing another kiss on his lips, hesitant at first, then firmer. She was trying to ignite a fire, so he figured it was time to ignite his own.

He flickered the igniter and cursed as he had severely misjudged the potency of the fresh brewed ambrosia. It was much closer to viper fuel as his shirt on the floor went up in a whoosh of flames that quickly spread to the covers of the bed they were lying on. Starbuck jumped up pulling Elisha with him, afraid he had miscalculated his attempt at creating a smoke screen and was going to end up setting them both on fire. The mattress began to smoulder, and he picked up his jacket wrapping the coat around Elisha's shoulders, pulling up a sleeve to her mouth and nose.

As smoke started to fill the room, he moved Elisha to the back wall then set to work prying the table apart. He wrenched one of the legs off, and moved to the wall, swinging the leg to chip at the cheap soft weld on the wall as he pushed against the metal. He felt the part near the floor give, and he went to work on the weld to the wall. Cheap construction with just a few spot welds here and there worked in his favor as the wall bent in towards the adjoining compartment.

He reached for Elisha, but she stepped away from him. "Come on!" he shouted to her. She flinched and he cursed. The fire alarms going off indicated he was out of time to try to convince her of his sincerity. He leapt towards her grabbing her arm. This time, she followed as he slipped his way through the gap in the walls, pulling Elisha with him just as the door to their room burst open.

The next room looked much like the one they left, only the décor was gold with bronze accents. Not wasting time on chipping at the welds, he kicked at the wall of the next compartment. To his surprise, Elisha joined him, shoving at the wall, and the welds gave away easily, the whole wall coming down, leading them to another compartment, this one much bigger, and they weren't alone. Several young girls looked up in shock and surprise.

"Oh lords," he mumbled. "How do I get myself into these messes?"


End file.
